This invention relates generally to butchering machinery, and more particularly to an apparatus for cutting wings from poultry.
Poultry butchering is increasingly automated. There is a wide variety of machinery from which to choose to perform any number of butchering chores, from plucking to deboning. Such devices have made high-volume processing a reality, while relieving people from a number of unpleasant chores. Butchering machines have the advantage of consistency and tirelessness, but generally are not as adaptable as their human counterparts to changing situations. One way of improving the adaptability of machines is to make them modular, that is, readily replaced stand-alone devices. Modularity also gives the packer flexibility in terms of the cuts he can produce.
There are already many different devices for removing wings and cutting the wings into segments (drumette, flat and wing tip). Perhaps the most difficult cut is at the shoulder, where the anatomy is complex and the exact location of the joint is not so easy to see. A knife or other flat blade has typically been used to sever the joint.